NYPA Takes 51% Stake in 240-MW Rich Road Solar Project — SkimNews
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- NYPA will own 51% of the 240-MW Rich Road Solar project in St. Lawrence County, with EDF Power Solutions North America as minority owner overseeing construction.
- The deal is NYPA's largest solar agreement since the 2023-24 Enacted State Budget authorized the authority to develop and own renewable projects beyond its traditional hydroelectric portfolio.
- Construction is expected to begin in late 2027 with commercial operations in 2030; the project holds a 20-year Tier-1 renewable energy certificate contract awarded through NYSERDA's 2025 Renewable Energy Standard RFP.
- NYPA President and CEO Justin Driscoll said Rich Road is the authority's first project to leverage a public-private partnership model and secure expiring federal tax credits, calling it a "successful model" for accelerating clean energy in New York.
- Community benefits include $1.2 million in host-community electricity payments over the first 10 years of operation and $300,000 in annual contributions to the Renewable Energy Access and Community Help program, which provides bill credits to low-income families.
- The New York Energy Alliance countered that NYPA's own 2025 renewables plan pegged new solar costs at roughly $100/MWh against only about $50/MWh in expected NYISO market revenues, calling Rich Road a "canary in the coal mine."
- NYEA added that 20 of the 29 private partnerships in NYPA's renewables pipeline are projects whose earlier state deals had already failed, raising broader questions about the 5.5-GW plan NYPA's board approved in December.
Why it matters: NYPA's own 2025 plan admits new solar can't cover its costs in the NYISO market alone at roughly $100/MWh against ~$50/MWh revenues, so this deal leans on federal tax credits and a 20-year REC contract to close the gap. The stakes extend beyond one project: NYPA's December pipeline expansion to 5.5 GW rests on the public-private model Rich Road is supposed to prove out, and the trade group's claim that 20 of 29 partnership projects are failed re-bids makes this site a test case for the entire portfolio.
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